Nothing Left To Lose
by snowzone5
Summary: AU: El never came back from the Upside Down until much later. Mike spirals into depression, runs away and he is never seen or heard from again. Jane Hopper holds down two jobs, one of them at a homeless shelter, she encounters a mysterious broken young man at the shelter. Mileven.
1. Chapter 1 - Late Shift

**Late Shift**

El Hopper could see her boss making her way over to her station.

"Jane… you still good with the late shifts except for Christmas and New year's Eve? I know the shelter is busy on those nights."

She was Jane to everyone. There were only a few people who called her El. Her dad of course, and what was left of the Party. Will was… gone. Dustin was a science teacher at Hawkins Middle. Both Lucas and Max were police officers and married. She kept in touch regularly with everyone. Everyone except Mike… El stopped herself. Don't go there El. Not at this time of year. Mike was gone. He disappeared seventeen years ago. You have no idea if he's alive or dead. He's _gone_.

"Yeah, Don thanks for keeping that schedule for me."

"No problem Jane, the work you do here is not nearly as important as the shelter."

El had taken the second job at the store to make ends meet. She had dedicated her life to working at the homeless shelter. Hoping one day… El stopped herself. Just go ahead and admit it El, you are hoping one day Mike will show up.

She had been working there over ten years, but it wasn't enough to cover the rising cost of living so she'd taken a second job at the department store to help.

She took the late shifts at the store, and left from there to go to the shelter and worked until the wee hours of the morning. Got up at noon and did the same thing again the next day. She rarely took a day off unless she was sick.

El gathered her belongings from the break room and pulled her wool hat over her loose curly hair. The Windy City was cold this time of year so she wrapped a scarf around her face also.

She went out to her car, and mentally mapped out the route she would take to the shelter.

* * *

She parked her car in the small lot at the back of the shelter and walked around the building to the front door. She had a key for the back door, but she preferred the front door. She needed to experience what it felt like for the homeless to walk through that front door. She'd made several suggestions to her boss on improvements they could do to make it easier for someone who'd finally hit rock bottom and walked through the doors for the first time.

There was a bench out front, and sometimes there would be a homeless person sitting on it. That meant that the shelter were really busy. They only had so many beds, and they constantly broke the law that disallowed letting people sleep on the floor. They had bought several foam and air mattresses specifically to break that law. El didn't give a shit. They needed a place to sleep if they made it through the front doors.

There was only one person sitting on the bench, they never bothered anyone who sat there. She knew they were waiting to see if space opened up for them.

He wasn't lying on his side, so he probably wasn't drunk. She changed her mind when she got within six feet of him. He absolutely reeked of alcohol. Shit, this one was going to be a pain in the ass to run through the intake procedure.

She moved closer to better assess his condition, and was surprised when he spoke clearly. "I'm not drunk."

"The smell tells me otherwise, no sense in lying to me."

He mumbled something that sounded a _lot_ like "Friends Don't Lie."

El froze on the spot. I must be hearing things. No way he said that.

She sat on the far end of the bench trying not to get in his personal space. He was homeless but he was still a human being and deserved every respect because of that.

"Ok, so you don't lie. Can you tell me your name?"

"Mike."

It was her experience that they never gave her their real name. So "Mike" was what she'd be stuck with for now. Still, the name caught her off guard for a few seconds.

"Mike?" Coincidence El. This is not your Mike. Your Mike is _gone_. What was weird though was that he seemed to have stiffened and turned his head sharply to look at her. That belied her initial thought that he was totally inebriated. A head movement that quick would have made him pass out.

Her heart stopped when she saw his eyes. They were deep, gentle, and totally lifeless. This one had a painful story. She could read it in his eyes. He'd lost someone he'd loved deeply. She'd seen it plenty of times before. But… there was something else there. Something... His hair was a long mess, an egg beater couldn't have made it worse. His beard was scraggly and just as unkempt.

"Can you tell me anything else about yourself?" She was trying to establish a rapport, it made it much easier when you treated the homeless like living breathing people.

"I could tell you everything about me. But it would just depress you telling you what sounds like trite sob story."

Trite? This one was educated. "Can you tell me why you are here?"

"Do you want the practical answer or the metaphysical one?"

"Let's start with the practical."

"I'm homeless, originally by choice, now I'm trying to put my life back together. I thought I would try and get a warm bed and some food tonight, and then start looking for some kind of work. I found this jacket, but it was clearly washed in Jack Daniels or something. Just as well, I didn't really want to deal with anybody today… at least until it got cold."

Besides the smell, the overcoat he was wearing was too large for him and had seen better days.

El was definitely _not_ expecting that answer. Out of curiosity's sake she asked, "ok… what about the metaphysical one."

He looked at her, the brief spark in his eyes was gone. He looked back down. In the most devastated voice El had ever heard he said, "I lost the girl I loved."

El's eyes filled with tears instantly. He looked so lost. She tried to keep the shakiness out of her voice when she asked, "how… how long ago?"

"I don't know, fifteen, maybe twenty years ago. Haven't really kept track."

What? He couldn't have been more than thirty, her age. He looked older but living on the streets will age you like nothing else could. And then El thought he's been grieving that much for fifteen years? From when he was twelve or thirteen? That usually indicated you needed therapy… or… or he loved this girl with his entire soul. And once she was gone, he was done. That was why he was homeless. He had nothing left to give the world but was not taking the cowards way out.

What would it be like to be with a guy who loved you that much? El was able to imagine that kind of love, because she was capable of it herself. She loved her Mike so much it hurt to think about it. It still hurt, even after all these years. That was why she'd never so much looked at another guy. She was hoping beyond all reasonable hope and common sense that she'd find him again.

She gave herself a moment.

"You said you were looking for work? What kind of work. What's your skill set?"

"I can solve a LaPlace Transform for an analog circuit. I can solve complicated Boolean expressions with Karnaugh mapping and then build the corresponding digital circuit. I can write a campaign for D&D. I can play a guitar. Or I can hammer a nail and use basic tools."

"How did you learn all that if you were homeless?"

"I'm homeless, not stupid. I hung around university libraries a lot. Sat in on classes. I have no degree, but I learned what interested me. I never wanted to be in the system so, I'm not."

El didn't know what to think. This guy was different. She was positive she could help him get back on his feet. He _wanted_ to do that. That, she knew from experience was ninety-nine percent of the battle.

She made up her mind . She would let this guy use her shower. She would make him a home cooked meal. And drive him back here, or even let him sleep on her sofa.

"I'll take you home-"

The guy snorted. "Not gonna happen lady. It's against your shelter rules. I'm not letting my troubles get _you_ into trouble. Besides I'll stink up your car and your house. And if that's not enough, I'm sure your husband, boyfriend or girlfriend would object to a smelly homeless guy you just brought home."

"Mike." That look from him again. Those lifeless, lost eyes.

"I break rules all the time. You know what? I don't care. If I can get you cleaned up so you don't look like shit, I can drive you to an employment center, you have a shot at getting an actual job tomorrow. And for the record, no husband, no boyfriend."

"I find that hard to believe, but, whaatever. Still, you'd do that for me? You don't even know me."

"Purely selfish on my part. I can help you. Maybe I can't save you, but I can help you."

"Ok." He looked down. "Thank you."

El couldn't help it. Her heart went out to him.

"You're leaving that coat behind though. I think that's the stinky part."

She went inside to tell her boss what she going to do. His response was what she expected. "If we can save even one of them…"

When she came back up the homeless guy was standing. He was a full head taller than she was.

He still had a bulky jacket on underneath. It was clear he was prepared to be sleeping out in the cold. She wasn't going to let him sleep outside.

She brought the car around the front. "Get in."

He got into her small car, having to duck his head quite a bit.

As she wound her way back to her apartment she eyed a drug store and pulled the car in.

"I'm going to get you some shaving gear. Studies show that clean shaven interviewees have a better chance at the job their applying for."

"I'll pay you back."

"If you get a job that will be payment enough."

He looked at her and said, "I can tell you are good at your job… you show a level of compassion that most people don't have… and you aren't burnt out yet… so you are driven by something…"

"Did you also sit in on psychology classes too?" She looked over at him smirking.

"As a matter of fact… yes."

El could not imagine a pain so bad he had chosen to live outside of the system, on his own with no one to care for him, or for him to care for. She envied this mysterious girl he'd lost… had she even known how much she was loved? She shook her head. If she never found her Mike again… a guy like this would be amazing to have in her life. She sighed.

Wait. Eleven Hopper. Are you falling for this guy? He's damaged goods. You can't ask someone with a broken heart to love again. It will only break your own heart trying.

"I'll be right back." She got out of the car quickly, tears stinging her eyes in the cold wind.


	2. Chapter 2 - Cleaned Up

**Cleaned Up**

El picked up what he would need now, and what she thought he might need in the near future. She picked up shaving supplies, with aftershave, deodorant… and while she was in that aisle a package of condoms. She didn't need them of course, but he might. She immediately felt jealous when she picked them up. When she got to the counter she was too embarrassed to return them. The bored guy at the checkout didn't care, but El was red faced through the whole process.

When she got back in the car the wind had picked up a bit, she'd pulled the scarf back over her face. She put the bag in the back seat and started the car.

"Sorry I was a bit longer than I thought I would be."

"It's ok." He joked, " I'm not on any real schedule these days."

He still has his sense of humour.

"Can I ask you what it's like… to be… on the road? You said you did it by choice." El avoided using the term 'homeless' whenever she could.

He snorted, "well, it's not the romantic life Jack Kerouac made it out to be. Times were much simpler back then. For the most part I didn't hang out with… them. Back then guys were just down and out, riding the rails and at peace. Nowadays, a good number of them have mental health issues. There was nobody to care for them, and they fell through the cracks."

"I'll admit though, there's a certain amount of freedom, the only responsibility is to yourself really. Although like the song says, 'Freedom is just another word for-"

"-nothing left to lose." They both said at the same time.

"Oh, you know that song?"

"My dad's influence, he was into early seventies music."

His face was almost completely covered by the collar of the bulky jacket he'd pulled up. "Like I said, for me it was a choice… once I'd… lost her." He took a deep breath, his voice shaky again. "Once I'd lost her, I got into trouble at school. I could never talk to my parents. Eventually I ran away, I couldn't stay in town any more. Every place just reminded me of her…"

He stopped talking. El could see he couldn't continue… How strong was his love that he held onto it for fifteen years? No chance of ever seeing her again. But she knew. She had that same love for her Mike. She still held onto the idea that she would see him again. And when she did she knew what her very first words to him would be.

"Um, what time is it?"

"Nine four five."

His head snapped around to look at her again. "Nine-forty-five… how long till we get to your place? I need to make a call."

El was confused. Who was he going to call?

"We'll be there in five or ten minutes."

The rest of the drive was silent. El was thinking that she'd never had this long a conversation with any single guy for as long as she remember. She made a point to drive a bit slower than usual in hopes of being able to talk to him more. Are you that lonely El? You want to drive around the city so you can talk to a homeless guy. A homeless guy you bought condoms for? What the hell were you thinking? He will get the wrong idea if he sees those. You know that right? Have you given up on Mike? El? Have you given up on him?

"No I haven't." She said firmly.

"You haven't what?" He said beside her.

"Nothing… just thinking out loud."

She finally pulled into her parking space, grabbed the bag from the drugstore in the back seat, and said to him, "this way."

They walked up to her apartment.

"Your apartment is on the eleventh floor?" He said in a quiet voice.

"Long story. Not for you."

"Gotcha," he said.

El locked the door behind her once they'd stepped inside. She was proud of her fireplace equipped loft. Almost all of her paycheck went to rent, but this was where she could escape.

"This is your sanctuary isn't it?" He said, his voice still barely above a whisper.

"It is. Shower is in there, throw your clothes out, I'll take them and get them washed. There's a robe hanging just inside the bathroom door, you'll have to sit around in it till your clothes are dried. Sorry." Her voice was a little more clipped and business like, her gesture towards the bathroom door perfunctory. She regretted it right away. She didn't know why she'd had a sudden change in attitude.

"Thanks." He said, his head lowered as he made his way to the bathroom. She could tell he'd noticed the change her in speech.

Maybe it's for the best, El thought, get this guy cleaned up, a meal and a good nights warm sleep. Then get him on his way… so you can get on with your life. Such as it is.

She gave him the bag of supplies, and he closed the door behind him. She heard the shower turn on full throttle. He hadn't thrown his clothes out yet, so she knocked lightly on the bathroom door. She got no answer, she carefully opened the door, and saw his clothes on the floor… and saw his bare ass as he stepped into the shower.

She grabbed his clothes and backed away quickly out of the bathroom. "Congratulations El Hopper. You've just seen your first homeless guy's ass. Check that one off your list."

She was a little flushed as she took his clothes down to the laundry room. He is not your Mike. You can absolutely _not_ sleep with him. Keep your hormones in check. You will not be able to face yourself in the morning if you do.

When she got back up to her loft, she could hear that the shower had stopped, there was the sound of scissors snipping away at his beard, he was going to shave also.

After a few minutes, he opened the door, a towel was draped completely over his head. But El wasn't looking at his covered face.

"Ah, Mike? The robe idea is only going to work until you actually tie it closed."

"Shit, sorry. Did you see anything?"

"I saw what you had for breakfast. If that's what you mean." With the towel still over his head, he closed the robe up and tied it securely. It hung a little above his knees. "Really sorry, miss…"

"It's Jane." This guy was never going to get her real name.

"Sorry... Jane, felt so good to be drying clean hair I got distracted… um, to tell you the truth you make me feel really comfortable here. I feel… safe."

"Don't get used to it. You are only here for one night."

"No, I know, I didn't mean to infer anything else. Um, where is my jacket, I need to make my call soon."

"Over on the bench."

He made his way to bench, rubbing one hand on the towel still covering his head.

"Who are you going to call? If you don't mind me asking."

"The girl I lost." He said in a low voice.

"I thought she was… gone… dead?"

"No… maybe… or she may be stuck in the u… um, you wouldn't understand, and you wouldn't believe me if even I told you."

El thought. I've killed a demogorgan, ripped a gateway through to the Upside Down, tracked people in the Void. You've be surprised what I would believe. _You_ wouldn't believe me if I told you Mr. Mike the Homeless Guy.

"Doesn't stop me from calling her though."

"You still call her?"

"Every night at eleven o'clock since that day." He rummaged around, pulled something large out of his jacket.

"Is that a walkie talkie?"

"Yeah, it's an old Radio Shack Supercomm. Still works… um, I'm going to use your bathroom for this… it's um… uh, a private call." His voice didn't sound right.

Jane felt weird. Kind of a tingle up her spine, but she nodded.

I hope he's not calling his dealer, because I will shut that shit down right away. He's not making a drug deal in _my_ bathroom, he can do it on the street, and I'll be done with him. Asshole.

El had long gotten over her habit of eavesdropping. Came with the territory if you were in the Void. She quickly ran up to the door in her sock feet and put her ear against the door.

She could hear the static coming from the walkie talkie. And something else. She was able to put her finger on it. He must be muffling himself in the towel. But it was unmistakable, he was making deep heavy sobs. He was trying to be quiet using the towel. His heart was dying.

El squeezed her eyes shut trying to stop the tears, she could barely make out what he was saying. He cleared his throat. "It's day six thousand, three hundred and fifty-two."

El did the math in her head. Her hand went to her mouth to keep her from crying out loud. He'd called this girl every night for almost eighteen years! He'd never given up on her! Would this girl ever know how profoundly she was loved?

"I love you, Eleven, if you could give me a sign. Anything. I miss you so much." The heavy sobs were louder this time. His soul was in agony, aching for its mate.

Oh my g… he said Eleven… this was Mike. _Her_ Mike! She opened the door. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor. He looked up at her startled. His hair was in shiny black long corkscrews, he was still pale, his freckles the same. She was lightheaded, dizzy...

Tears running freely down his shocked face, "Eleven?"

"Mike!" she heard her voice through the speaker as her knees gave out, and she started to collapse against the door.

The last thing she remembered before the dark overtook her were her own words, repeatedly echoing through the walkie talkie speaker.

"I love you… I love you… I love you… I love you."


	3. Chapter 3 - Catching Up

**Catching Up**

El woke up. Her head was resting on Mike's bare chest. She listened to his gentle breathing. He sounded at peace. She gave a satisfied, "Mmmmm" She didn't want to move. Mike's body heat was very comforting.

Her left hand felt funny, but with her fingertips she could feel Mike's abs. From what she'd seen when he'd forgotten to close up the bathrobe he was wearing, he was… what did they call it…? Ripped.

Mike must have thrown the wool blanket from her bed over her. She felt a little itchy, when she realized why she said, "Mike, am I topless?"

"And bottomless," he said.

"Ok, that's why I feel naked. Uh… why?"

"Um, you fainted last night, and I grabbed you before you hit your head. Your hand flew out and hit the shower lever. No bones were broken but your hand is going to be bruised and sore for awhile. Anyway, it soaked both us pretty good. I… um… uh… took your clothes off and dried you off. I got you over to the futon as fast as I could. Grabbed what looked like the warmest blanket and covered you up. Sorry I saw all your charms."

"We're even then, saw yours last night… Mike… you seem to be naked too."

"Uh, yeah, you didn't have any other spare robes, I was sure none of your other clothes would fit me. "

"I'm glad you're not wearing my underwear Mike."

Mike laughed, and then said in a much more serious voice. "Um, Eleven?"

"Yes Mike?"

"I love you." El could feel his breath hitch. She looked up to him tears in her eyes.

"I love you too, MIke."

"I never gave up on you, I called you for six thousand, three-"

"-hundred and fifty two days… I heard. I could never find you in the Void Mike. I tried hundreds of times."

"I didn't want to be found El, not back then."

"Mike," El treaded carefully here. "Is my right hand under your ass?"

He burst out laughing and she felt her right left butt cheek being squeezed. "Uh, yeah, returning the favour. We must have fallen asleep this way."

She also felt his stirring...

"Yes, Mike."

* * *

El collapsed exhausted on top of Mike panting.

"Um… wow?" Mike said hugging her tightly trying to catch his breath.

"Sorry Mike I told myself I would not do a homeless guy on my futon…. Oops." She giggled.

"El…" Mike's voice took on a serious tone again. "When I saw you coming through the door last night, I thought… I don't know… I couldn't believe it. I thought I'd finally caved to my… grief."

El used her thumbs to brush away Mike's tears and kissed him softly. "You already know it was too much for me… and… Mike. You are no longer homeless. I'm not letting you out of my sight. I… can't lose you again."

This time it was Mike who brushed away her tears. "You won't lose me... I've wanted to kiss you again for almost twenty years. I didn't expect anything more… but that was… nice."

"It was more than nice Mike… you are…" El turned a deep shade of red… "um, very talented."

Mike blushed. "I was in the moment… I'm also trapped in your apartment naked with no clothes. If you could find it in your heart to get mine from the laundry room."

She laughed. "Yes, they should be dry now. Let me get dressed first."

El did not close the bathroom door when she got dressed. She wanted Mike's eyes on her. She wanted everything about Mike. Again.

"Mike… let's go back home for the holidays. Back to Hawkins, we can figure things out from there."

"I don't know how I'm going to face my family, or the Party if any of them are still living there... Ok El, with you by my side, I can do it."

She came over sat on the futon beside him and gave him a deep kiss. "I'm not kidding Mike, when I go downstairs to get your clothes, it's the last time I'm going to be more than five feet away from you. I've waited too long…"

She gave him another quick kiss. "I'll be right back."

* * *

They were finally out of the city on the main highway."What are you smiling about El?"

"I have no reason _not_ to smile. The guy I've loved since I was twelve years old… and who loves me…" Her voice started to waver, "is sitting beside me and we are going home, to where it all started."

"You mentioned the Void this morning. Does your nose still bleed when you move things?"

"No, I got a lot stronger. You'd be surprised what I can move now."

"Stronger than a locomotive, faster than a speeding bullet?"

El smiled at him. "Something like that, the locomotive part anyway."

"Are you telling me you can move a train?"

"Just one train car… sideways."

"Wow. I thought it would take time for me to get used to having a telekinetic girlfriend again, but I fell right into it I…. Um, oh…"

"What is it?" She looked over concerned.

"Are you…" he took a deep breath… "...are you my girlfriend?" He sounded so fragile and unsure of himself that her eyes stung with fresh tears . We're were both so new at this she thought.

"Mike… I was yours when you kissed me in the lunchroom. I was surprised, maybe a little confused… but I was yours Mike... I _am_ yours."

He was wiping his eyes. "Thanks El… I've been alone so long…"

"Me too, Mike."

"The second after I realized you'd killed the Demogorgan and disappeared… I knew my life was over… and… well you see where it led me… were you trapped in the Upside Down?"

"I was… I called out to you…" She stopped that part of her story when she saw Mike had his face in his hands, wiping his tears away furiously. She burst out into tears and had to pull over to the side of the road.

"I'm sorry, I had no idea it was as bad for you as it was for me." She leaned over and they held each other tight.

"I know you think I was being funny, but I'm _not_ letting you out of my sight."

He laughed through his tears. "I'm ok with that…"

"There are some changes that happened in Hawkins that you don't know about."

"It's been almost twenty years, I'm sure there's a lot of changes."

"Some of these happened in the first year after you… left."

"Ok El, I'm prepared for it. I have you… nothing can be as bad… I'll be ok."

"Will is gone."

Helooked down… "ok."

"You were his best friend, he went off a few days after you did, to find you. I guess he never found you."

Mike shook his head.

"That was really the big one, everything else is just minor after that. There's one other thing."

Mike looked at her, a calm settling into his features.

"My birth certificate says Jane Hopper on it."

He looked puzzled, "Why would the chief adopt you?"

"He felt guilty, it's a long story, and it's not important anymore. We had a rough couple of years, but he gave me a life and an education. And he kept me safe."

"You got to go to school with Dustin and Lucas?"

"Yes, and Max."

"Who's he?"

"Max is short for Maxine, but nobody calls her that. She'll punch you."

"Let me guess, is she a redhead?"

El giggled, "as a matter of fact, and she's also married to Lucas… and they are both police officers working under my dad."

"Mike, you're dad is gone too. From what I heard he died in his sleep on his La-Z-Boy"

"I wasn't very close to him? My mom?"

"She's ok, your dad provided her with a comfortable living."

"Did my sister ever marry that douchebag Harrington?"

El laughed. "No, she married Will's brother."

Mike just looked at her.

"And Steve is one of the nicest guys you are ever going to meet. He runs a bar in Hawkins, he and Dustin are almost inseparable… no… not like that. Some interesting things happened when you were gone."

"Upside Down interesting?"

"I opened the gate, but I close it too. No demogorgans, demodogs, or mind flayers to worry about."

"Uh oh, I don't know about the last two."

"Dustin can explain better than I can. Just know that you don't have to worry about them."

"I missed so much. I shouldn't have run away… I was nothing without you El."

"Mike… I understand."

He looked at her and nodded. El swore she could _feel_ the love coming off him in waves. It made her feel special. Wanted.

She was no longer empty inside. It made her feel complete.

Mike Wheeler loved her. _Nothing_ else mattered.


	4. Chapter 4 - Hawkins

**Hawkins**

"This is going to be hard to do. I missed so much El. Growing up with my friends, seeing my baby sister grow up… I missed so much. They are going to be pissed at me. I don't know how anybody is ever going to forgive me."

"Mike, you are alive and you love them. That is _all_ they will care about."

"You don't know that El."

"I do Mike, because that all _I_ care about."

El figured they were only half a mile into Hawkins before she saw lights flashing behind them.

"Shit. We are being pulled over. Do what they say Mike."

"Oh, great, my first 30 seconds back in Hawkins and I'm going to spend the night in jail."

El pulled over and the patrol car stopped a few car lengths behind them. She couldn't see who got out because the headlights blinded her.

She rolled down her window along with the passenger side window.

"Turn off the ignition and step out of the car," the officer said to her, and his partner must have asked Mike the same thing, because he was already opening the door.

"Was I speeding officer?"

Lucas leaned his head down, "Please El, step out, it will make all this much easier."

"Shit, Lucas." El took off her seat belt, she was starting to fume, and she could see the headlights in the patrol car flicker a bit.

She stood up and defiantly shoved her face forward towards Lucas. "Get it over with Lucas," she air quoted, "make all this much easier."

Lucas came forward and El expected him to spin her around and put her in handcuffs.

Instead he put his arms around her, and gave her a tight hug. "Thanks for bringing my best friend home." He whispered into her ear.

"Officer Sinclair," the female police officer frisking Mike said, "the only ID this one has says 'President of Hawkins A.V Club.'"

"I'll vouch for him," El said, "or my dad will."

"El?" Maxed looked up to her friend. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?

"It was a last minute thing."

"Seriously, Mike? That's the only ID you kept?" Lucas said across to him.

"It's the only one I have, Lucas. It's the only one my friends would need."

El watched Lucas walk around the front of the car and hugged his best friend. For a long time.

She smiled. "He's mine Lucas, you can't have him, besides, you're married."

She saw that Mike was a little overwhelmed. His head was lowered and he'd started wiping his eyes regularly.

She gave Lucas a nod, "we'll catch up later, I need to get Mike to his mom's"

"Right… watch the intersection at Maple St. they were working on the water main there."

El guided Mike back to the passenger seat.

A few minutes later she pulled into Mike's parents driveway, shut the car off and turned to him. "I'll be by your side through everything."

They met at the front of the car and joined hands. She saw him take a deep breath. "I love you El."

"I know Mike. I love you, I'm with you forever."

They walked up to the front door and she could feel his hand shaking. "It will be ok."

El knocked and the door was opened. Karen stepped back and let them both in.

El watched Mike looking at his mom, and his older sister Nancy beside her.

"I'm sorry mom, Nancy… I just couldn't do it without El… I just couldn't."

"We know Michael, at the time, we didn't think you loved El as much as you did. You don't think of your little boy being capable of that kind of emotion. You must love her very much."

El hung her head, and started to cry, When she could no longer stand it she turned to Mike and put her arms around his neck and cried on his shoulder. From behind her she could hear Nancy say, "thanks El, for bringing him home, we knew you would do it one day."

"Mike?" A new voice. El knew who it was.

She stepped away from Mike, but kept her head low.

"Mike!" A young blonde woman ran into Mike's arms.

Holly.

Mike cried on her shoulder. El heard Holly say, "I love you big brother. I'm glad your home. I missed you so much. " Mike started with loud sobbing, and had to turn to El.

She took him into her arms rocking him back and forth, "It's ok Mike, we are all here for you."

She felt him nod. Karen, Nancy, and Holly and backed away to the kitchen to give them the space they needed.

El led him downstairs to the basement and towards the sofa. It was the exact same sofa she'd sat on the night Mike, Lucas, and Dustin had found her.

"I don't want to be alone tonight, El."

"You won't be Mike. But we both won't fit in your bed. But I want us to be together. A few years ago I made some adjustments to the blanket fort." She gestured towards it.

He looked over and saw that it as longer than it used to be. Enough for two adults to sleep comfortably in it. "Are those clothes, in there?"

"Two sets of t-shirts and track pants. Both yours, but I'm borrowing a set. So in a way I'm still getting into your pants, but it's not what you think."

He laughed, "yeah, not really in the mood… but if you wanted to El, I would."

"I feel the same. We have plenty of time for that Mike . I will wear you out before long. No worries there." She gave him her best mischievous smile.

"I will make it up to you El. For all those missing years."

"Mike, you made it up by trying to find me. You never gave up on me. For almost eighteen years. How many girls can say that about the guy they love? I would have waited for you forever Mike. I was prepared to be a wrinkly old spinster. Let's get changed and I'll make us some tea."

"Ok, you can go first."

"We go in there together Mike. No secrets from either of us. Promise?"

"I promise El, no secrets. Just you promise to keep your hands off my ass while I'm changing."

"I'm not promising that," She gave him her best pout.

El was glad she hadn't promised, because she wasn't able to keep it anyway. And one thing led to another, completely accidentally on purpose.

Later, Mike was spooning her in the blanket fort. He seemed at peace, his arm around her waist. His soft breathing against her neck.

"You doing ok Mike?" She asked him. He was being very quiet.

"I couldn't have done this without you El." He whispered, "I can't believe I'm in the blanket fort with the girl I lost and loved for almost twenty years. You saved my life twice back then. You saved it again last night."

"I wanted you with me that first night, I was scared of the storm, and you were so nice to me. Nobody had ever been that nice to me. I knew I loved you that night. I didn't know what the feeling was then, but it's the exact same thing I feel right now."

For the first night in a long time she didn't dream about Mike. The few times she woke up, she could feel his breath on her neck, his arm securely around her waist.

"I love you Mike Wheeler." She felt his arm tighten a little.

"I love you too Eleven."


	5. Chapter 5 - A Promise Remembered

**A Promised Remembered**

El felt something hot splash against her face, and then another.. It trickled down to the corner of her mouth. Her tongue tasted Mike's tears.

"I lost so much time with you El… so much time..."

She turned in the blanket fort to face him. She looked into his eyes. He looked like he'd been crying a long time. She put her finger on his lips, "shhh. We're together now and that's all that matters. I lost the time with you too, Mike. I am _never_ going to lose you again. _Never._ " And then she couldn't help herself and cried along with him.

He pulled her closer. She was lost in his scent, as she nuzzled in his neck. She fell back to sleep immediately.

About an hour later she awoke and whispered into his ear, "I have to pee"

"Ok." Mike said.

"You have to come with me."

"Uh, I'm not going to watch El."

"Of course not silly, you're going to stand guard."

"Just close the door El, no one will come in if… oh… I see. You still don't like having it closed."

"You remember." She smiled at him.

"You remember everything about our time together... don't you?"

"Every single minute," Mike said, "It's all I've thought about since… you said... goodbye…"

She nodded without saying anything, and got up. He got up with her and stood with his back to the bathroom door that was open about an inch.

"Do you remember you made me a promise?" She asked him.

"Yeah," he looked down, "and I broke that promise to you El…"

"Not yet you haven't."

"I haven't?" Mike looked puzzled and she beamed a smile at him.

"No, you haven't, you are taking me to the Snowball this year."

"I am?"

"You are," she grinned at him. Saw the relief flood into his face.

"I get to keep my promise," he looked down and wiped his eyes El walked over to him and gave him a tight hug.

"You get to keep your promise to me Mike."

"I don't remember crying this much as a kid when I thought Will was dead … and… when I'd lost you… " Mike's voice was shaky. She put her finger to his lips again. "Mike. Look at me."

He looked into her eyes, and she thought her knees would fail her, but she managed to keep standing and said, "We are together now. And we will be forever. That is my promise to you. Do you want to know when I fell in love with you? I was sitting in your La-Z-Boy and you told me to trust you."

Tears flowed freely down her cheeks. "I did Mike. And you made me laugh. I don't remember ever laughing before that day. But you told me to trust you and you made me laugh."

"And then you called me for six-thousand-three-hundred and fifty-two days. You never gave up on me." She couldn't help herself any longer and started bawling like she was twelve again. Mike gathered her in his arms and hugged her until her sobbing lost it's strength.

After a few minutes she said, "are my eyes nice and puffy now?"

"You're eyes are very pretty El."

"Well, your's are too, but they're also puffy." She smiled at him.

Mike shrugged, "I was crying with my… girlfriend, I'm ok telling anybody that." He gave a huge sigh. "It's probably not going to be the last time today. Speaking of, what is the agenda for today."

"One of the things I do for the homeless is help them get re-integrated into society. Get their ID's in order, Social Security Number, all that stuff. I've been preparing for yours for a long time. Dad's gonna pick us up and take us to the county clerk's office. Both of us have to sign some paperwork, between your mom and dad we were able to fast track a lot of this. And then we go to the bank and make sure you can access your bank account. Your mom told me your dad left you with some money to work it if you ever returned. So you're not penniless, but neither of us need anything while we are in Hawkins."

"You've thought of everything."

"It was my job. I take care of all the details so my clients doesn't get overwhelmed." She saw Mike give a huge sigh of relief.

"I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"Exactly, I've got your back, I'll won't leave your side today." She wrapped her arms around his neck and reached up on tip toes to kiss him.

"Ok, let's go."

They left the house and stood outside waiting for her dad. When the Blazer pulled up, Chief Jim Hopper got out.

She ran over to give her dad a hug, he still towered over her. He gave her curly hair a kiss and looked up at Mike, walked over and held his hand out to shake his.

"Sir."

"I owe both of you an apology."

"Dad?"

"For what sir?"

"No adult can understand the feelings you to had for each other back then, especially no parent. You're not supposed to be capable of them at that age."

"But we loved each other dad." She went over to Mike and put her arms around his waist.

"I know, honey, I see that now, maybe a little bit of me did back then too. But seeing you two now, " he shook his head, "You waited for each other for almost twenty years."

"I would have waited forever dad." She looked at Mike but he was looking down, trying to keep his composure.

"Ok, guys, let's go get Mike legal. I brought the briefcase El."

* * *

El was busy signing paperwork. She gave a sidelong glance to Mike at various points and one time during the process and noticed that he was over talking to a different clerk. She was getting annoyed that various clerks kept bringing over paperwork for her to sign, and she could see that Mike was also signing paperwork. She was sure she'd done the leg work so that this would have been kept to a minimum, but laws change and lots of paperwork tended to be the end result.

Finally she stood in front of Mike after putting the various folders into her briefcase she held it up to show him. "Everything that proves you exist, is right in front of you."

"Everything that proves I exist I can kiss and she'll smile at me."

That's exactly what she did. Smile. Just looking at him, thinking about him, made her smile. Kissing him, had other effects but it was all good.

Her dad was waiting for them in the waiting room. "We done?"

"One more thing dad, do you have a spare pair of handcuffs with a key."

Her dad held up his hands, "I really don't want to hear this. Not in front of the A-D-U-L-T"

El turned a deep shade of red. "Seriously, dad, _that's_ the first thing you thought of? Besides if we wanted to play cop's daughter captured by the sexy homeless man, we'd need at least two pair, maybe four."

"Ok, ok," her dad put his hands to his ears and said, "I give. I deserved that."

He handed her pair of shiny cuffs, and a keychain with a single small key on it. El immediately put one end on her wrist, and the other on the briefcase. "This is not leaving my sight until they are put in a safety deposit box. Next stop Hawkins Middle and then the bank."

"Why are we going to the school?" Mike asked.

"I made a promise to Mr. Clarke. When I found you, to take you to him."

"Don't you mean 'if you found me'?"

"No, _when_ I found you, " she got up on the tips of her toes and kissed his cheek.

" _When_."


	6. Chapter 6 - A Promise Shared

**A Promise Shared**

They drove through the streets of Hawkins to get the the middle school. El kept glancing over at Mike to see how he was taking it all in. "Are you doing ok?"

"It's like I never left. Hawkins doesn't look like it's changed at all. Even Chief… uh your dad looks the same. His hair is grey but he hasn't changed a bit." Mike sighed.

"Oh he's mellowed a lot. We had a couple of rough years. I was crying myself to sleep a lot. Every night."

Mike looked at her as she wiped her eyes. "I didn't think I had that kind of affect on you. I thought it was me who felt that way. Lucas always made fun of me."

"I think he was a little jealous of the attention you were giving me." She smiled at him.

"What's _that_ building?" Mike asked.

"That's the Starcourt Mall. It was new about a year after you were gone. If the party wasn't hanging out there, we were hanging out at the bus."

"The bus?"

"At the junkyard. Steve made sure we were all safe and home at reasonable times. He got very protective of all of us."

"Steve? Oh, right, you mean Steve Harrington." Mike sighed, "I have a lot of catching up to do."

El saw that he had put his face in his hands. He was trying to be quiet, but she could tell that Mike was really hurting. He had missed almost his entire childhood.

"I won't sugar coat it Mike." She began, "you missed a lot, and it's going to be hard hearing stories of all the things we did. But if you can keep two things tucked in the back of your mind today… with everything we did, we… _I_ always wished you were there with us. I didn't have quite as much fun as the rest of the party… and the other thing… there are perks to being an adult that we didn't have back then. Nudge nudge, wink wink. _Lots_ of perks."

He smiled at her, "are you always going to know what I'm thinking. I thought your superpowers were only moving things with your mind."

"Remember Mike, the first part of my childhood I missed. I was a lab rat. I know exactly how you are feeling. The week I was with you and the party was the most wonderful time of my life… until now."

"I didn't forget, El. I can't imagine what you went through at that place. That piece of shit Brenner was insane. I still don't know how he found us at the school. I think about it a lot. Do you want to know the exact time I fell in love with you?"

"The quarry?"

"When you asked me if you were still pretty. I just wanted to hug you, after I said you were really pretty. I was trying to screw up the courage to kiss you when Dustin interrupted"

She laughed lightly nodding her head., "I was waiting for you to kiss me. I wanted you to kiss me so badly I moved in a little to give you a signal." She signed, "...Dustin has always had bad timing."

"My hair is longer and I have no idea where the curls came from…. but… still pretty?" She didn't consider herself a vain person but she was suddenly desperate to hear Mike's affirming answer.

"Yeah, pretty. Really pretty."

El cleared the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, "thank you Mike. I waited a long time to hear you say those words again."

* * *

El held Mike's hand as they walked into the school, "Mr. Clarke is going to be so disappointed in me. I know he looked forward to the Party being in his class, we all liked science and he just got us. You know what I mean? It was like he was an unofficial silent member of the Party."

"Hold on to that Mike."

They walked into the classroom and Mr. Clarke looked up from the papers he was marking. "Ah, I see the Mage has found her Paladin." He said from underneath his moustache, now all grey. She went over and gave him a hug.

"Good to see you again Mr. Clarke."

"How many times have I told you to call me Scott."

"Sorry Mr. Clarke. You are always going to be that for the Party." Mr. Clarke looked over at Mike who was nodding eyes to the floor.

When she stepped back he gave Mike quick glance, Mike was unable to meet Mr. Clarke's eyes.

"Did you finally locate him in the Void?"

Mike looked up sharply and stared open mouthed between her and Mr. Clarke. Questions evident on his face.

"He knows?"

"He's no longer an unofficial silent member, Mike. We needed his help to close the gate, and it was getting too difficult for us to make up reasons that made sense, he saw through us right away."

"Even though he was a grown up, we had no trouble convincing him the first time. He was a great help. He deserves as much of the credit as anyone of us."

Mike smiled, "I knew you were a cool teacher Mr. Clarke, that's why you were the Party's favourite. I'm now realizing just how far that cool goes."

"You should see his zipping up The Upside Down demonstration." El said.

Mike look confused and slightly out of sorts. Mr. Clarke put him at ease by saying, "I'll explain it over a beer. We ready El?"

"A beer?" Mike looked at her.

"You don't have to drink. We're going to Steve and Dustin's pub.. It's Benny's old burger, place. It's totally renovated. He was the first person who was kind to me. Even renovated the pub will always have a place in my heart because it reminds me of Benny."

* * *

When El entered the Hawkins Pub and saw Steve at the far end behind the counter polishing a glass, occasionally looking up at Dustin who had his elbows on the counter talking to Lucas and Max.

Without missing a beat Dustin said, "So, this Mage and this Paladin walk into a bar…"

Both Max and Lucas turned to look and El and Mike. Everyone noticed how close she stood to Mike, and the grip they had on each other. Mr Clarke followed a bit behind.

Max gave El a hug, Lucas gave Mike another long hug.

"Hey you little asshole, make room from me," Dustin pushed Lucas out of the way and gave Mike a long hug also. "She found you. We talked about you pretty much every day."

Mike was again overwhelmed and El came to his rescue, "give us a few minutes ok?"

Dustin and Lucas nodded. El led Mike to a corner booth. Mike was breathing a little heavy.

"Whew, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be." Mike was having trouble.

She squeezed his hand, "it's ok Mike. None of us thought this would be easy for you."

"I feel a little ashamed that I ran out on everybody… but… I just couldn't do it without you El. I couldn't..."

"Shh." She put her finger on his lips again, "they know Mike. Nobody is going blame you for anything. I think they're all now realizing what we meant to each other. Even back then."

"How do I make it up to them?"

"Well, first. You don't have to. But I know you want to. You just be their friend. That's all any of the Party would ask of you."

Max and Lucas slid into the booth next to El and Mike.

"I haven't properly introduced myself." Max said. "I'm the Party's Zoomer." She held out her hand.

As Mike shook it Lucas rolled his eyes and said, "that's not even a real thing."

"It could be." Mike said, and gave her a small smile at her, still keeping a low key presence.

"Hah, I like him already," Max said.

"Oh, shit." El said suddenly. "We forgot to go to the bank. We have to go guys, uh, Lucas? Mike can borrow one of your suits right? For the Snowball?"

"Is that tonight?" Mike looked up panicked.

"Yes," El said, "you are keep your promise to me tonight." She pulled Mke out of the booth but heard Lucas and Max talking as they walked away.

Max looked at Lucas. "Mike promised to take her to the Snowball. This was before you moved to Hawkins."

"He's keeping a promise he made almost twenty years ago?" Max said raising her eyebrows.

"That's Mike. He would have done anything for his friends Dustin can confirm. For El… for El he'd wait forever so he could keep a simple promise he'd made."

The last thing El heard was, "Mike doesn't break his promises. Ever."


	7. Chapter 7 - A Promise Kept

**A Promise Kept**

El took Mike to a teller, and after some explanation of why they were there, she led them to the rear offices of the bank.

"Ah Miss Hopper, I've been waiting for you and Mr. Wheeler," the bank manager said.

She was about to walk into his office with Mike when the manager stopped and said, "um, excuse me but only Mr. Wheeler's wife or his mother would be allowed in this meeting. Unless you are no longer 'Miss'"

El looked down head and shook it. "I'll wait out here. It's ok Mike."

The manager glanced between the two of them and smiled.

Mike was in the manager's office for most of an hour before he finally emerged.

El could see he was pale, "everything ok?"

Mike nodded, gave her a smile.

"If you don't want to go to the Snowball Mike, it's ok, we can spend some quiet time in a place where no one can find us."

"Not a chance. I'm keeping my promise to you El."

El smiled and took his hand and led him out of the bank.

Just outside the bank doors, he said, "El?"

She turned to him and he leaned forward to kiss her, El got up on her toes to meet him. "I'm not kissing you enough," he said.

"No you aren't," she giggled. "Ok, let's go back to your parent's place and change for the Snowball."

"That's hours away El."

"You may have noticed that I'm a girl and 'hours away' is the panic signal that I need to get started."

* * *

Nancy was helping with El's makeup and hair upstairs. They left Mike by himself to shoehorn into a suit that Lucas had lent to him. Mike was a fair bit more muscular than Lucas was. El figured it would be a bit of a tight fit.

"I'll keep going with the make-up, you tell me when to stop. It won't matter at all to my brother, but he's not a girl, so…"

Nancy fussed around El for a long time. Finally she emerged from the upstairs bathroom. "You sure you want to wear that dress? It may have been in fashion back in the mid eighties, but it's certainly not now."

"I want to look like what Mike would have seen me in during that Snowball. It may not be important to Mike, but it's important to me." El looked down.

"It's ok El, but I think you forgot these" Nancy turned red.

"I didn't forget them." El gave Nancy a sly smile.

Nancy put up her hands smiling and backed away, "I don't need to know anymore El."

* * *

El walked downstairs to the basement, she could see Mike's knee bouncing up and down and old habit she'd last seen in the gym when she had her head on his shoulder. He was nervous. She smiled to herself. Mike had probably experienced enough to fill several lifetimes but he was nervous about taking his girlfriend out on their first date.

When he looked up at her, her knees felt wobbly, she put her hand to her heart and leaned against the wall, smiling weakly at him.

"The way you look at me Mike…" she trailed off.

"You look beautiful."

He came over to her and put his arms on her shoulders and kissed her forehead. "You ready to go?" His voice sounded unsure.

"I hope we don't look too silly out on the dance floor. I don't know how."

"Neither do I... want to figure it out?" She looked into his eyes and nodded.

* * *

When they went up to Mr. Clarke to ask about tickets, he just waved them towards the entrance.

"We can minimize our embarrassment by only dancing to slow tunes." Mike said. El giggled.

The lights dimmed as if on cue. The music started and then the lyrics… "..Every breath you take…"

El put her arms around Mike's neck and they swayed to the music.

Mysteriously Mike pulled back, and the dancing couples pulled away from them. El felt a little panicked and she heard a few of the blue and white balloons pop.

"I made you a promise that I'd take you to the Snowball... I made myself a promise that if I ever did…" Mike put his hand in his pocket and then got down on one knee. He looked up at her.

"El, if you could find it in your heart to be my wife…"

Her hands flew to her face and she started nodding yes vigorously. She couldn't help crying. The entire gym full of kids starting clapping and hooting. All the lights flickered briefly.

"...you belong to me…" The timing could haven't been more perfect.

Mike stood up and took her hand. "This is my Paladin from the game. I had it melted down and formed into a wring. And inscribed." She read "I promise" on the outside of the ring.

"On the inside, it says "Mike + El forever." He slipped it on her finger.

"Um, El, one more thing?"

She looked up at this perfect guy. She saw another question in his eyes.

"Would you marry me tonight? Right now?"

"Mike, we can't legally marry until we register, sign paperwork at the county clerk office. But we can first thing tomorrow morning."

"We've signed all the paperwork El, that's what took us so long yesterday. I took a gamble and pulled some strings I didn't know I had. The clerks were sneaking but very professional."

"I will Mike, I'll marry you tonight if we can find a Minister." As soon as she said that, and man of the cloth walked up to them.

"Are we ready?"

Mike nodded. "I am."

She was wide-eyed looking at Mike. Tears streaked down her cheeks. "I'm ready. Right now Mike, I want to marry you right now. I've waited almost twenty years for you to ask me."

The ceremony was quick, the song still played, and the entire gym full of kids were solemn, until it was over, then they cheered and the area around them started to fill in with dancing couples.

El moved in closer to put her head on Mike's shoulder.

"Um, El. I should tell you that I don't really want to work. I don't want to spend anymore time away from you."

She pulled back to look at him, "Mike, I can't support both of us on what I make, and we'd be apart anyway, during the day."

"I don't want you to work either. My dad invested a lot of his money into a few companies IBM, Apple, and a new company called Google.. He left it to the rest of the family. I found out today how much my share was...

"...I told you your dad did that. You aren't penniless Mike, but it's not enough for us to stop working."

"About eleven million dollars, El. Neither of us are working again... and..., um, I don't know a lot about how to handle money, so I put it all in your name. All I really want is you."

El's eyes went wide once again. She kept the tears from falling, amazed at what Mike had given up just to be with her. She put her head on his shoulder again, and they continued dancing.

"Uh, El… it took you something like three or four hours to get ready."

"I wanted to be perfect for you Mike."

"Ok, um, uh, well you seemed to have forgotten to put on your underwear."

She pulled back to look at him a glint in her eye. "I didn't forget Mike, it's only me under this dress. I have the perfect place for us to go."

She took his hand and led him out of the gym.

Mike didn't know it yet, but they were headed for the cabin, so they could be alone.

Together. Forever.


End file.
